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Local lawmakers mixed on gov's tax-hike plan

Concerns over funding allocation

By Allison Thomasseau, Correspondent

Updated:
03/01/2013 06:37:23 AM EST

BOSTON -- Fitchburg-area legislators have mixed reactions to Gov. Deval Patrick's release of district maps detailing how revenues from his proposed tax-increase plan would be allocated for school districts and transportation projects. Although they like the rewards, they all wonder about the cost.

"It's one of the most creative ideas I've seen in terms of budgeting in a long time," said Rep. Dennis Rosa, D-Leominster.

"It's like the show-and-tell, because you can see some of the changes that could take place."

The district maps, at mass.gov/governor, show where $1.9 billion of raised revenue will be spent on resurfacing projects, rail-trail extensions, school districts and universities.

However, Rosa, along with other legislators, was not convinced that the funding presented on the maps was worth the tax increase.

"The tax increase, I would have a hard time supporting, and from what some of my colleagues have said, there's not a big appetite at this time for increases," Rosa said.

Rosa said he was impressed with increased funding for gateway cities, such as Leominster and Fitchburg, which have high youth and immigrant populations. But he said he would have preferred allocating funds to each city, rather than a lump sum. Patrick's plan would give $11.2 million statewide to support English-language learners, close the achievement gap in schools and offer career services.

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Sheila Harrington, R-Groton, said she was not swayed by the promise of additional funding.

"The funding only comes with a price tag, and the governor's only capable of doing this by raising taxes," Harrington said. "There's an effort to convince us that it's a good thing, but I don't see it as something I'll warm up to or my constituents will warm up to."

Rep. Kim Ferguson, R-Holden, said the education and transportation goals represented on the budget maps are admirable, but the additional taxes are not realistic.

"To dangle that in front of us and say, 'if you vote for my proposal you get 'x',' the governor is using the carrot-and-stick approach," Ferguson said.

Rep. Jon Zlotnik, D-Gardner, said it was helpful to know which projects would be funded, but he still wants to know how much money his constituents will need to pay.

"We need a third map of how much cities and towns are going to have to kick in," he said.

Zlotnik said he was surprised by how much education funding varied by district. Under the proposal, Gardner Public Schools would receive an additional $605,157, a 3.3 percent increase from last year, compared to Lunenburg Public Schools, which would receive roughly the same additional amount -- a 11.65 percent increase for that school system.

Patrick's plan would also increase funding for higher education, providing the university system an additional $12.5 million. The University of Massachusetts system would receive an additional $25 million, and community colleges would receive $20 million. However, the money was not allotted for individual universities.

Robert V. Antonucci, president of Fitchburg State University, said in a statement that the university is "seriously underfunded" and he "enthusiastically applauds" the additional money.

"It's no exaggeration to refer to public higher education as the future of the commonwealth, given the fact that the vast majority of our graduates continue to live and work in Massachusetts," he said.

Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, a strong supporter of Patrick's proposal, said he was pleasantly surprised by the amount of funding his district could receive, especially in transportation.

"A part of the proposal that really excited me is commitments to finally finishing rail-trail projects that have been around for 10 years or more, and to see that highlighted in the map is exciting," he said.

Under Patrick's proposal, $18.7 million would be allocated to the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail extension in Littleton. Other transportation projects could include $2.4 million to resurface roads in Shirley and $10.2 million to resurface roads in Ayer and Groton.

Rep. Jen Benson, D-Lunenburg, said she has not looked at the maps carefully, but felt they are a good tool to help people understand how they will be directly affected by the proposed tax changes.

"If you are working class or middle class, you could see a significant decrease in your taxes, and a lot of people don't know that," Benson said. "The proposal shifts the burden onto the wealthy, so people need to figure out how it impacts them."

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